After more than thirty years serving Nevada in Washington, my time in office is coming to an end. Representing the Silver State in the United States Congress has been the honor of a lifetime. I am forever humbled and full of gratitude for the chance I was given to serve Nevadans all these years.

I can still remember my first day in Congress. It was January 1987, and I walked in ready to serve and excited about the possibilities. Every day since then, we have fought to create good-paying jobs, improve our education system and foster a competitive workforce to strengthen Nevada’s competitiveness in the global economy. We have led the way in making Nevada a national clean energy leader – bringing more than $6 billion in clean energy investments to the state. During my time in Congress, we worked together – hard – to grow Nevada and build on the tremendous progress we made.

Through all the tough times we have had, we have always come back stronger than before. I am comforted by the fact that Nevada is a state full of fighters. I know that as I step out of the ring, Catherine Cortez Masto will be a leader for Nevada in the Senate, that Ruben Kihuen and Jacky Rosen will be fighting for us in Congress and the new majority in the Nevada Legislature will make a real difference in the lives of middle-class Nevadans. This new generation of Nevada leaders will stand up for all Americans, no matter what, and I could not be more proud to see them take our state into the future.

I know what is possible in America. Growing up, we did not have a high school or a grocery store. I went to primary school in a one room school house. However, Searchlight is where I learned values like hard work, opportunity, and independence – and I used those values to deliver meaningful results for everyone. I got to do this job because of the faith Nevadans put in me all these years. I will miss being the senior senator from the Silver State. However, I will always be in Nevada’s corner.
Contact Harry Reid at http://reid.senate.gov/